Love Me Least
by ThisAccountIsNowInactive354085
Summary: And how is it that a broken heart continues to beat? ChikaruXShion, TamaoXMomomi, and now YayaXTsubomi.
1. Prologue

**So this is going to be ChikaruXShion, with maybe a few minor side pairings thrown in. It takes place immediately after the Etoile Election and goes from there.**

**oOOOo**

**Love Me Least**

**Prologue**

_**iAtethePoisonApple**_

**oOOOo**

"_And maybe my love will love me not,_

_But at least she won't love me least."_

It was so predictable. It was a rush, yes, and there was the exhilaration and the hesitation and the heartbreak for not one girl but two.

But Chikaru had known it would happen in the end. Because Nagisa wasn't meant to be with Tamao- Tamao had much greater things awaiting her in the real world, and one day she'd be greater than Shizuma ever was, and Nagisa would want her, one day, but it would be too late. Miyuki…she wished she could say there was a happy ending for her. She wished she could say there was a Prince Charming waiting to steal her away from her evil Mother and Father, but there was no prince, and, in the end, there was no future. That fairytale was reserved for Hikari and Amane, the new Etoile, but even that hadn't been so pretty and painless, because behind Hikari stood Yaya, forever watching, forever pushing until she realized that she was pushing her the wrong way and tried to pull her back too late. And behind her stood a small, loyal pinkette who would remain by Yaya's side forever, even if she never left the cave she'd buried herself in.

And then there was Shion; tall, proud, noble Shion dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief because all of her dreams had finally been realized. It made Chikaru feel sick to her stomach. There were flashes of when they were younger, when they'd been inseparable, and once upon a time, Shion had pledged her loyalty to Chikaru, her princess. Once upon a time, politics was the last thing on their minds and Shion was her knight in shining armor, protecting her from bullies and boys. But now they were just Chikaru and Shion, and now Chikaru was the one watching Shion, waiting for her to be ready. Waiting for her to remember.

But she never did. Even after years of subtle glances and innuendo hidden beneath sweet, innocent smiles, Shion never remembered her princess, and all that remained were the gray-scale memories and the one kiss that Chikaru still tasted on her lips.

_Was it worth it, Shion-koi?_

_Was it worth it, kaichou?_

"Touching, isn't it?" she said aloud, her gaze resting on Shion, who was still quietly sniffing. The Spican's head swiveled to face her and Chikaru offered her a sweet, innocent smile. It was too easy, this pretending. "Your wish has been granted, Toumori-san."

Shion frowned slightly- they hadn't talked outside of the council room in what felt like forever. "Well, yes," she said after a moment. She had a strange feeling that Chikaru was baiting her. There was something about the way she smiled that struck a chord within Shion, something that told her she'd be better off if she left while she could. "But I should really go now."

Chikaru's lips formed into a just barely-there pout as she took a small step closer to the blonde. "Leaving so soon, Shion-koi?" she asked, her eyes taking in Shion's reaction. The Spican's eyes widened at Chikaru's unfamiliar tone and use of her childhood nickname, and she took a step back, unconsciously wetting her lips. "Always somewhere to be, always someone to meet…" Chikaru continued in that same gentle, unhurried tone, her eyes flashing with something that she almost recognized, though Shion felt a little more trapped with every step she took.

"Um," she began lamely, "is there something wrong, Minamoto-san?"

Chikaru's eyes flashed once again at Shion's words. "Minamoto-san," Chikaru murmured. She raised her chin to look into the Spican's eyes, just barely registering the question she had been asked. "Wrong…I wonder…"

Shion's brow furrowed in confusion. "Maybe I should go," she began, the nerves in her body pricking at her skin with tiny electric shocks, the way they always used to whenever…

"Won't you kiss me before you go?"

_A smile, a giggle, and kind amber eyes flashed with happiness and energy as a pair of arms was thrown around her neck._

_"Won't you kiss me before you go, my prince?"_

_It was soft and awkward- a foreign sensation against the young girls' lips. _

_"That was weird."_

_"Yeah."_

_"Want to do it again?"_

"Chikaru," Shion choked out as the memory rushed, unbidden to the surface of her mind. "Not now." She'd forgotten it all- forced it to the back of her mind with the coming of high school and her stepping into her father's shoes, preparing to take on his legacy. There was no time for silly childhood games. And there still wasn't.

And yet…

"When, then?" Chikaru asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "Surely there won't be a better time."

"Never," Shion said coldly, turning so that she was facing the chapel doors. "It was a long time ago, Minamoto-san. The time for games is over, at least for me." But the thought of Chikaru playing those 'games' with someone else made her feel as though acid were eroding at her stomach. So she hadn't forgotten enough. "I have to go, Chikaru."

Chikaru smiled her usual serene smile, but her eyes glistened with an unspoken sadness. "Why is it," she began softly, stepping forward until she was only a foot from Shion, "that you always have to go?" She looped her arms around the frozen Spican's neck, staring into Shion's eyes and watching as they darkened from lavender to a deep violet, her lips quirking up into the smallest of smirks when she saw the blonde unconsciously lick her lips. "But you don't want to go, Shion-koi," she murmured, sliding her hand down Shion's collar and easily unbuttoning the top few buttons, tugging at her bow tie, leaving a small amount of fair, flawless skin exposed.

"Minamoto-san," Shion began in a warning tone, her body rigid, but from her close embrace, the president of Le Rim saw the nervous gulp, felt the acceleration of her heart. She pulled Shion closer with her right arm, allowing her left to slip down, her hand poised at the base of the smooth column of the Spican's neck. Her thumb rubbed the warm skin rhythmically as she buried her face in the crook of Shion's neck, pressing the lightest of kisses to her collarbone and reveling in the barely perceptible shudder that the Spican gave. "Stop, Chikaru," Shion said, her voice significantly lower as her eyes fluttered shut, her words, a final plea.

"Won't you kiss me, my prince?" Chikaru whispered, her breath unbearably hot against Shion's exposed shoulder as her left hand slipped further, caressing the Spican's taut shoulder blade. "Won't you kiss me before you go?"

Chikaru felt the intake of breath more than she heard it, and her lips curled into the first real smile she'd displayed since her first year at Astraea Hill. But the moment was short-lived, because in the next, a firm pressure drove her further into Shion's arms and the Spican had leaned down to her left and captured Chikaru's lips in her own, her thumb massaging the small of the brunette's back in an almost possessive embrace. Chikaru tightened her hold on Shion, melting into the warm, familiar feeling. Shion had always been so possessive over the things she cared for the most. Chikaru remembered teasing her about it- remembered the way Shion had looked at her like she was crazy that day.

_"If I don't hold onto them, they'll be taken from me. That's how it works in this world. Nothing's ever fully yours, and the things that are are taken from you all the same unless you hold on."_

They broke apart to take a breath, chests heaving. Chikaru rested her forehead against Shion's, content in the moment, content in the arms that she'd missed so dearly. But she'd woken the insatiable beast residing within Shion, the one she knew all too well, and before she had a chance to react, she was pressed against the back wall of the stage, directly beneath the beautiful stained glass window she'd always loved so much, Shion's hands around her wrists in a vice-grip.

"I told you to stop, Chikaru," the Spican whispered, pressing a trail of rushed, heated kisses down her neck, pulling her sweater down past her right shoulder, her hands balled up in the light fabric. "I told you…" She frowned, staring down at the ground, her eyes wrought with a cross between lust, desire and guilt. "I…"

"You told me, Shion-koi," Chikaru whispered softly, causing Shion's head to snap back up. She gazed lovingly into the same confused violet eyes that she'd fallen in love with that day by the lake, with that first kiss. "I was the one who wouldn't listen."

Shion's eyes cleared, if only by a little bit, and she needed no further encouragement. The blonde let go of Chikaru's arms only to feel those delicate hands instantly clamp down on her shoulders as she held the brunette possessively by her hips, kissing, sucking, biting until Chikaru let out a hollow moan and sunk to the floor, dragging Shion down with her.

**The prologue- and the prologue alone- is a (partial) repost of a story I didn't expand on a while back. It was meant to be of their lives outside of Astraea Hill, but I've decided I want it to revolve around their final year. Please leave a review so I'll know whether to continue or not!**


	2. Wake Me Up When September Ends

**Guys, I figured out how to do a page break. Like an actual one.**

**I am literally SO proud of myself right now.**

**(Also, I am aware that it is not September during the Etoile Elections, but the song this chapter is named after really suits the mood of it, so yeah.)**

**Please leave a review! :3**

* * *

><p><strong>oOOOo<strong>

**Love Me Least**

**One: Wake Me Up When September Ends**

_**iAtethePoisonApple**_

**oOOOo**

"_Summer has come and passed,_

_The innocent can never last._

_Wake me up when September ends."_

Winter really was such a bittersweet time of year—lovely but depressing.

Romantic, but so terribly cold if one had to face it alone.

Bright, flamboyant colors faded to a grayscale canvas; warm fall breezes became harsh, icy winds, and the deep, blue lake was frozen over and coated with a very light blanket of snow.

But more than anything, winter seemed to change people.

Minamoto Chikaru sat at her humble desk in the Le Rim student council room, her back turned to the room, her wide, amber eyes staring out the window as the girl was seemingly hypnotized by the slowly falling snow, oblivious to the concerned eyes watching her every move.

"I've never seen Chikaru-oneesama looking so melancholy," Natsume Remon noted to Hyuunga Kizuna, her best friend and partner in crime. "It's a bit scary, isn't it?"

Kizuna frowned. "Scary?"

"Yes, like…," Remon paused, as if trying to think of a suitable word to describe the sensation. "Like everything's changing all at once, and even Chikaru-oneesama is affected by it. She's usually the one picking up the pieces…"

"So who will pick up her pieces?" Kizuna finished, catching onto Remon's train of thought. "Poor Chikaru-oneesama…"

Unbeknownst to the two girls, the youngest girl in the room had made her way to Chikaru's side.

Byakuden Kagome stared out the immense window for several minutes, her large, blank eyes showing no sign of outward emotion. Then, with no warning, she turned to Chikaru and said, "Oshibaru wants to know why Chikaru-oneesama is so sad."

Chikaru gave a small start and chastised herself inwardly—had she really fallen so far that she couldn't keep up an outward appearance? And in front of her kouhais, of all people…she turned and smiled gently down at Kagome, spinning the chair slightly so that the small girl could climb into her lap. "Why does Oshibaru think that I'm sad?" she asked, running her fingers through Kagome's curly locks.

"Chikaru-oneesama has always had happy eyes," Kagome stated after a moment, staring up at Chikaru unapologetically. "But now they're always so sad."

Chikaru blinked—she hadn't been expecting to be called on her slight change of demeanor since the night of the Etoile election, but apparently, she'd been more obvious than she thought. No matter what, though, she couldn't have little Kagome worried about her. "I'm not sad, Kagome-chan," she said after a moment, kissing the girl's cheek and smiling fondly when she blushed a deep red. "Not for myself, at least. It's sad to watch so many sweet, innocent girls getting hurt over the actions of others and be helpless to stop it, I suppose. But there's no easy way around this, is there?" she asked, turning to Kagome, her fingers buried in the younger girl's hair.

Kagome shook her head sagely, and Chikaru giggled. "Oshibaru says he wishes everyone would just be back to normal again," the young girl stated quietly after a moment, and the tone in Kagome's voice nearly broke Chikaru's heart. "That way, nobody would hurt anymore."

"Sometimes things hurt us because we care," Chikaru murmured, "and if they don't hurt us, then they weren't worth the pain to begin with." She sighed, feeling the younger girl's eyes once again boring into her, as if they were piercing her very soul. It was impossible to lie to those blank, omniscient eyes. "If there were anything I could do at this point—anything to help these girls—I would in a heartbeat, but I think this time, they need to work things out on their own in order to realize what they need."

"And what about Chikaru-oneesama?"

Chikaru paused—she'd been hoping to distract Kagome with her half-truth, but she should have realized it was a hopeless cause before she began. "What about me?" she asked softly, resting her chin against the smaller girl's shoulder as Kagome shifted in her lap.

"What does Chikaru-oneesama need?"

Her breath caught in her throat, because at that moment, several images had swum unbidden to the surface of her mind—a prince and a princess, a dragon that was too large and vicious to slay. The feeling of foreboding—the moment just before you lose something forever, something that you know, deep inside, you lost a long time ago. A stranger—a stony, poised girl with the temper of a lion.

The night of the Etoile election—the earsplitting silence, the bittersweet ecstasy of soft, possessive hands curled around her wrists. A night full of empty promises, of sepia-tinted memories of days that were so far away from them now.

"Chikaru-oneesama?"

The hesitant voice startled Chikaru from her thoughts, and she took a deep, bracing breath before turning back to an inquisitive Kagome. "Happiness," she said after a moment, stroking the girl's cheek with delicate, narrow fingers. "I need happiness for all those who lost theirs."

Kagome frowned slightly, as though she knew Chikaru wasn't telling the full truth, but slipped out of her lap and scurried back over to Kizuna and Remon anyway, leaving the older girl to her thoughts.

Chikaru watched the girls playing together for a moment before turning back to the frosty window.

Winter really had changed everything.

But this winter had gone on for almost five years now, and still, the snow was falling.

* * *

><p>"Would you stop that already? Your pacing is making <em>me <em>tired."

Tomori Shion turned to shoot a glare to an apathetic Kenjo Kaname, who was positioned in the president's seat, her legs resting lazily on top of the enormous desk. "Yes, I can tell," the blonde replied sarcastically. "Isn't there something you're supposed to be doing?"

Kaname shrugged. "Well, since Momomi broke it off-"

"Okay! Sorry I asked," Shion stated loudly, cutting a smirking Kaname off before she could go into detail. "I think I've walked in on you and Momomi 'working' enough over the past five years that I deserve a break from hearing all about your distasteful personal life."

"_Somebody_ needs to get laid," the dark-haired girl mumbled under her breath. "Jealous much?"

Shion ground her teeth, her fists clenching—she hated how easy it was for Kaname to get under her skin, but she wasn't about to correct the girl. She couldn't imagine the hell the taller girl would put her through if she found out just how Shion had celebrated Spica's victory. "Watch yourself, Kaname—I can easily get a new assistant."

"But nobody knows this school as well as myself and Momomi," Kaname replied in a bored tone. "You seriously need to take that stick out of your ass, I bet girls would be all over you if you'd just loosen up." Her smirk widened as she watched Shion turn an unhealthy shade of fuchsia. "I bet you're still a virgin," she quipped, her eyes flashing maliciously.

"That's it, Kaname—leave!" Shion spat, pointing towards the door.

Kaname scoffed. "Whatever," she muttered, kicking her feet off the desk and sauntering towards the door.

Shion stood in the center of the room, stewing, her face still bright red even after the door had closed behind Kaname, her arms tucked tightly around her body. If it were up to her, she would have gotten rid of the girl years ago, but, as Kaname had pointed out, nobody knew Spica better, and she wouldn't settle for less than the best as her right hand.

"I'm not a virgin," the Spican mumbled under her breath, as if Kaname could somehow still hear her.

Slowly, Shion began to cool down, and walked around her desk, sighing as she sunk into her chair, fingers massaging her temples.

She prided herself on working her best under stress, but things had been absolutely hectic since the Etoile election. Kaname and Momomi could no longer be in the same room for more than five minutes without sinking into a full-blown yelling match, and even her secretary, spunky Okuwaka Tsubomi, seemed to have lost a good portion of her fire after that night. Shion was virtually on her own for training the new Etoile, preparing for the new semester next year, and running the entirety of Spica.

And then there was Chikaru.

Chikaru, who had the most annoying habit of invading her every thought in some way, shape or form since the night of the election. If emotions had been on the backburner before, there was literally _no _room for them right now, but damn it if Shion hadn't wasted hours because of the way her thoughts kept drifting to the Le Rim president.

Lately, it seemed as though every move Chikaru made was meant to push her a little closer to the edge—to chip away at her remaining willpower. She wasn't called the Shadow Empress for nothing, after all; sweet, innocent Chikaru always had an agenda, despite always meaning well. Shion knew her childhood friend too well to overlook the glances that lasted just a moment too long, and the accidental brush of fabric against fabric that left her longing for the touch of the pale skin underneath it.

Chikaru was brilliant—she had to know the effect that she was having on the Spican. But Chikaru was also well-aware of the circumstances preventing them from becoming any more than a fond memory.

It wasn't fair at all, the way she was playing Shion.

She knew why they couldn't happen—she knew why Shion had ended their friendship in the first place. A slight swell of rage bubbled up within the Spican at the thought—Chikaru had always been so good at manipulating the people around her, but Shion wouldn't be another statistic.

But damn it, it was _hard_.

For years, Shion had done all she could to distance herself from Chikaru and put her traitorous feelings behind her, while Chikaru, in turn, had done everything she could to make doing so impossible. Shion had climbed the tedious ladder to become Spica's president, and Chikaru had effortlessly risen to the top of Le Rim, making it so there was not a single day that Shion wasn't reminded of what she'd given up.

And it wasn't fair, not at all.

It was as if Chikaru thought she hadn't suffered enough, like she thought that giving her up had been too easy, and that Shion needed to be reminded of her mistakes every day.

But it wasn't a mistake—Chikaru was her past, her childhood. And there's a reason they call it the past.

Right?

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><p><strong>AN: I won't be replying to reviews in this story unless a question is asked—like one that needs to be answered, and wouldn't be answered in the story itself. It's just to save space and stop cluttering the story, please know that I do appreciate every review I get, and please continue reviewing because it is my motivation!**

**That said, I did want to address the first review I got for this story given by Unknown, since I feel like it's necessary.**

**First off, thank you for your long review—I really do appreciate those! Thank you also for the compliment of my writing, I'm glad you like it :3 I understand your complain about my stories never being finished, and more than once I've considered taking them down myself, but the thing is, I'm a very random(?)-minded person, (there IS an actual term out there somewhere :P) and I never know if I'll continue one of my old fics if I get the motivation to do so, like I did with How Can You See With Your Eyes Closed. Also, as a reader, I enjoy reading stories even when they aren't complete if they're of quality, and I've heard many readers complaining about stories that have been taken down. For these reasons, I won't take my stories down, but I will try to complete my stories- trust me, it's just very hard for me, because I get distracted extremely easily, and get plot bunnies right and left. I've actually been diagnosed for something along those lines. Anyway, I can't promise I won't publish anything else in the meantime because of that reason, but I will try and finish my old stuff.**


	3. Love Games

**So because this is more going to concern the older ranks of Spica (for the time being), I've changed the description :P Don't worry, Chikaru and Shion are still a major couple. I'm not promising anymore couples, because God knows that's ruined a bunch of my stories so far, but please keep reading and make sure to review!**

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><p><strong>oOOOo<strong>

**Love Me Least**

**Two: Love Games**

**_iAtethePoisonApple_  
><strong>

**oOOOo**

"_Let's play a love game, play a love game;_

_Do you want love, do you want fame?"_

_-Lady Gaga_

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><p>Pathetic.<p>

They were all so pathetic, standing around, crying as if they knew anything.

Crying as if they knew what it felt to be broken, as if they weren't just in love with the idea of it.

It was all so pathetic, but Kiyashiki Momomi stood back, watching their tears with apathetic eyes. If they only knew how much pain Aoi Nagisa was in for, well maybe they'd stop swanning around after Hanazono Shizuma, throwing snide, bitchy remarks at Nagisa like teenage girls do.

But they didn't know.

They didn't know anything.

You don't truly love somebody until you knew them—until you're in too deep to have any hope of swimming back out, and then it's like you're stuck, drowning at the bottom of the pool and hoping somebody will save you, though you can't say a word.

That was love.

Bitter, spiteful, and weak.

Momomi had never been one of those girls herself—true, she had been too blinded by her love of Kaname to notice that it wasn't…requited…but when she'd learned the truth, had she stood around and glared at Amane, as if it were her fault (even though it really, really was)? Had she spat snide comments—started childish rumors?

No.

Because Momomi knew better.

Because Momomi would get her revenge, and it would _hurt_ Kaname.

It would hurt her like she hurt Momomi, and then maybe (_maybe_) she'd regret stringing her along like the second place trophy that she had been.

Rumors wouldn't hurt Kaname—the idea of it was laughable, actually. Because Shion didn't rule Spica, not really—she and Kaname did, and split apart, they could not expect to have power over each other. Kaname could easily crush rumors, or perhaps even bask in the attention.

No, Kaname _would _regret (hurting) humiliating Momomi.

She _would _regret (using) taking advantage of her, and she _would _regret that she didn't see what she had in Momomi.

Momomi leaned back against the marble stairwell out in front of the Strawberry Dorms, eyes narrowed and jaw tense.

And the strangest thing happened.

Her eyes just happened to fall upon the saddest face she'd seen all day.

And there were no tears, no spiteful comments—just those heart-wrenchingly sad eyes, so large and confused that Momomi swore she saw the same expression on a puppy that had been left out on the street.

And for the first time since…that day, Momomi's lips twitched into the beginnings of a smirk as she pushed away from the wall.

"Suzumi!" she barked, delighting in the girl's startled squeal. Smirk firmly in place, she sauntered up to the quivering girl, folding her arms over her chest and leaning forward, deliberately invading Tamao's personal space. "Jumpy, are we?"

Tamao sighed. "What is it, Kiyashiki-sama?" she asked quietly.

Momomi leaned back, her lips pursing into a small, amused smile. "You don't seem too happy to see me," she stated with an unconvincing tilt of her head.

"I'm sorry, but I'm running late to class…"

The blunette attempted to hurry past the honey-blonde, but Momomi was quicker, and, having more experience with confrontations, darted out in front of Tamao, pressing her well-manicured fingers against the girl's collarbone and forcing her to take several paces back. "I find myself in need of your assistance," she cooed in a syrupy-sweet voice, the one that gave all the girls nightmares.

"Please leave me alone, Kiyashiki-sama," Tamao said quietly. "We've hardly ever even talked before, and I'm not exactly good company at this point, what with…everything that's happened. Why would you need anything from me now?"

"Ara, but that's exactly why I need you, Suzumi," Momomi purred, running her delicate hand over Tamao's pale shoulder, smirking inwardly when the girl shuddered beneath her touch. "You know what it's like to be heartbroken, Suzumi—wouldn't you like to make her regret it? You know, after Shizuma dumps her on her ass?" Momomi spat, deliberately goading the girl, amber eyes flashing in amusement.

"Shut up," Tamao growled under her breath, suddenly animated, and Momomi raised a thin eyebrow.

"Not feeling particularly articulate, are we?"

Tamao raised her eyes to the Spican, glaring at her from under her eyelashes. "Whatever you want, I'm sure I won't be of any help to you, Kiyashiki-sama," she said in a measured tone. "I'm sorry Kaname broke your heart, but, unlike you, I'm not bitter about-"

Tamao gasped in pain as Momomi shoved her up against the stone wall. The girl was much stronger than she looked. "Kaname didn't _break _anything," she growled, her hands tightening around Tamao's wrists as she pressed them back against the cold stone. They stood there for a moment, Momomi pressing into Tamao, who, despite being in pain, refused to look away from her cold amber eyes.

All at once, Momomi surged forward, capturing Tamao's lips in a forceful kiss. The girl was paralyzed for a moment, and then seemed to come to life, straining against the hands that held her and kissing back with a vengeance. Quite literally. Momomi whimpered softly when the girl bit her lip, and, growling, flexed her hands, grinning into the kiss as the girl hissed in pain.

As quickly it had begun, Momomi pulled back, smirking, and flicked her tongue out to lick away the pinprick of blood welling from her lower lip. The blunette was panting beneath her, violet eyes shocked and angry all at once. "You need to forget Nagisa—don't look at me like that, you know you do," Momomi scoffed as Tamao's eyes widened. "You need to forget Nagisa, and I…" she paused, running gentle fingers down the blunette's delicate curves, "I need to get back at Kaname."

"By using me?" Tamao asked bitterly. "Because I've had about enough of that to last me a lifetime."

Momomi's eyebrow shot up. "Kitten's got claws," she murmured after a moment, eyes flashing with arousal as she looked the angered blunette up and down.

Because hey, she was still used to living in constant satisfaction, and Tamao was turning out to be quite the little tiger. So maybe this plan could have more than one benefit in the meantime—it just kept getting better.

"Come on, kitten, what's the harm?" she continued. "You've got nothing to lose—if anything, Aoi will realize how big of a mistake she's made and get jealous, right?"

Lies.

"You're lying," Tamao replied, deflating. Momomi blinked-this girl really was as smart as everyone said, maybe even more so. Perfect. Momomi really did hate to be bored, and all these teenage girls were all the same, really. "You know as well as I do that even if Shizuma-sama does break her heart, she'd never come to me. Even if Shizuma-sama doesn't love her, she loves Shizuma-sama with all her heart."

"So you need to forget her," Momomi purred, switching tactics easily. "Who's it going to hurt, Suzumi, really? And look at the benefits," she added, gesturing to herself, ignoring Tamao's eye roll. "I don't do things halfway, Suzumi—if we're going to do this, we'll do it right."

"Fine, I'll do it," Tamao muttered, continuing quickly when Momomi's smirk widened, "to forget Nagisa—you can keep the rest to yourself." Usually Tamao would never have said yes to such a proposition, not in a million years, but it wasn't as though she were worried about Kaname's wellbeing after the way she'd treated Hikari. And besides that, the pain she felt inside—the ache of inadequacy, the sting of the look Nagisa had given her that night, the look that told her that yes, she would stay by Tamao's side, but that she wanted to be with Shizuma—was becoming too much for her to bear. At least Momomi seemed to be somewhat attracted to her, given the completely unsubtle once (twice, thrice) over she'd given her.

Momomi watched as the thoughts seemed to race through Tamao's mind at an alarming pace, but that didn't matter. She had what she wanted, and she was going to get her way, one way or another.

Oh yes, Kaname _would _regret humiliating Momomi.

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><p>Shion stood at the immense bay window of her office at Spica, her eyebrows furrowed as she watched Momomi talk to the girl that Nagisa had run out on the night of the Etoile Election. She was up to something, but that was hardly a matter that Shion could spend time worrying about—she had already lost Kaname and Momomi as a team. Anything that Momomi did to get revenge on Kaname would hardly affect Spica any more than their constant bickering did.<p>

"Penny for your thoughts, kaichou?"

Shion jumped, whirling around to face a gently smiling Chikaru leaning in the doorframe of her office. "Um…no," she replied lamely, averting her gaze, her cheeks flushing in that infuriating way they had begun to every time Chikaru so much as caught her gaze. "I mean…" She sighed, gesturing out to the courtyard and stiffening as she inhaled the familiar sweet scent that she'd come to associate with Chikaru's nearness.

Chikaru made a quiet noise of discontent, and the Spican turned to her, arms folded over her chest. The dark-haired girl was staring out at the scene with a small (adorable) frown. "We don't need any more broken hearts," Chikaru murmured in a sad tone.

Shion stiffened reflexively, but Chikaru didn't turn to look at her. "I, um…I think she's just getting back at Kaname," she replied, unsure of whether Chikaru's statement was rhetorical. "It doesn't really look like Suzumi-san is in love with her or anything."

Chikaru giggled, finally facing the Spican and leaning up to press a brief kiss to her cheek, causing the tips of Shion's ears to turn pink even as she stared determinedly at the ground. "No, it certainly doesn't," she agreed after a moment, having used the momentum the kiss had given her to lean against Shion's arm. The blonde shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the action, but basking in the feeling. "Still, hearts are fragile things, Shion-chan."

Chikaru's eyes darkened with sadness for a moment before she looked back up and pulled away from Shion. "I did have a reason for coming here, though," she said, as if the encounter had been her plan all along. "Miyuki-chan would like your help in training the new Etoile, along with mine."

"And 'Miyuki-chan' couldn't ask me herself?" Shion replied, raising one eyebrow, unable to keep the somewhat less than subtle trace of jealousy out of her voice. "And when did you start calling her that, anyway?"

"When did you start caring what I called her, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked, hopping onto her desks, legs folded over each other. She seemed innocent enough, but the glimmer in her eye told the Spican that she was well aware of what she was doing.

Shion turned slowly and stared at Chikaru, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm not going to play your games, Minamoto-san," she said, sounding far more decisive than she felt. "And I don't care what you call her," she grumbled as an afterthought.

"Of course you don't, Tomori-san," Chikaru replied with faux formality, smiling slightly as she slid off of the desk, stepping into Shion's personal space and straightening her tie. "Why would you?"

"Chikaru…" Shion stated tiredly, reaching up to massage her temples. "What happened the other night…"

"Was never going to amount to anything, Shion-chan," Chikaru replied gently, ignoring the stab of pain that was the knife twisting in her heart at her own words. She could tell that the Spican was having a hard time adjusting to her more burdensome roll, and no matter how much it hurt her, Chikaru wouldn't add more weight to her shoulders with an issue that had always been moot.

There was a pause in which Chikaru could have sworn she saw pain flicker through violet eyes, but then Shion was back to herself in no time flat. "Right," she said briskly. "About the Etoile training—I'll assist Rokujou-san, but only on the condition that she listens to my ideas. I get so tired of her bossing me around all the time with her false superiority…"

Chikaru smiled sadly as she listened to Shion rant. The dark-haired girl knew she was letting her mask slip, but a selfish part of her wished that the Spican would look at her for just a moment and notice that maybe she wasn't so okay.

She didn't, of course. She was too busy grumbling about Miyuki and Miator supremacy to notice much of anything else.

_It's always about politics to you, isn't it, Shion-chan?_

_ I never stood a chance, did I, kaichou?_

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><p><strong>So it's Tamao and Momomi, guys! I always wanted to explore this pairing, and it seems a few of the reviewers on my other stories (don't know if you're reading this) wanted it too! <strong>

**Review, pretty please! I need to know if you guys are liking it, especially with the new addition of Tamao/Momomi! Reviews are my motivation to write these stories!**


	4. Stars Go Blue

**Read the A/N at the bottom, guys :3**

**I do feel the need to add that the two meetings mentioned take place on separate days, just so nobody is confused :P**

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><p><strong>oOOOo<strong>

**Love Me Least**

**Three: Stars Go Blue**

**_iAtethePoisonApple_  
><strong>

**oOOOo**

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><p>"<em>Where do you go when you're lonely?<em>

_Where do you go when you're blue?_

_Where do you go when you're lonely—I'll follow you_

_When the stars go blue."_

_-Tim McGraw_

Momomi balanced the tip of her pencil between her teeth as she kept up with the conversation half-heartedly, amber eyes shifting between Miyuki and Shion as if she were watching a tennis game. Glancing away for a moment to give her eyes something new to look at, one thin eyebrow shot up as she caught Chikaru gazing at Shion, almost as though in a trance.

_Interesting._

The moment only lasted for another second, however, as the Le Rim president seemed to sense Momomi's gaze and blinked out of her paralyzed state, shooting her an enigmatic smile.

_You won't fool _me _so easily, Chikaru_, she mused to herself, her eyes blank as she continued to stare at Chikaru until the other girl looked away. Momomi smirked.

Chikaru was what Momomi liked to refer to as a puppeteer, always bending the will of those around her to match her own with one sweet little smile. _I mean, for God's sake, look at what she's done to _Shion. Then again, Shion had never really had what it took to be at the top, not really. She had always struck Momomi as more of a poster child, a pretty face and booming voice for the cameras. She was smart, yes, but the girl was far too noble, always stepping back when things got shady.

_Don't build your house in a swamp if you're not willing to get wet._

But she digressed.

It wasn't just Shion—Minamoto Chikaru held the vast majority of Astraea Hill in the palm of her hand, with each and every girl wrapped around her pinky finger. She knew each and every dirty little secret, and everyone was just so stupefied by her that they didn't take the time to analyze her—to read the writing behind _her _eyes.

But she wasn't going to trick Momomi into revealing her plans or her secrets. Not now that Momomi had caught her scent, because even Chikaru wasn't bold enough to risk the one thing that seemed to truly affect her.

She stiffened as she felt a shiver run down her spine, but refused to turn and meet Kaname's snake-like gaze. She wasn't going to be the weak one—wasn't going to be the one begging on her knees. Not this time.

The meeting let out early, with Miyuki and Shion reaching a semi-agreement for once, and Momomi was out the door a second later, heading for Miator. She'd heard from her sources that Tamao had her literature club around this time, and she didn't want to waste any time on formalities—they needed to get right into the revenge.

Once there, Momomi leaned against the side of the school, one foot pressed against the wall, supporting her weight, her arms folded over her chest as she waited for Tamao to be released from her Literature club.

"Already?"

The honey-blonde glanced up, eyes wide for only a moment before her lips curled in a devious smile. "I just wanted to walk you back to your room safely, honey bunches," she cooed in a syrupy sweet voice, tapping Tamao's nose. The blunette drew back, rolling her eyes.

"What do you want, Kiyashiki-sama?" she asked in a tone that clearly stated that she wanted to be anywhere but there as she began to walk away.

Momomi pursed her lips in an exaggerated pout. "Now, now, Tamao-chan, is that any way to refer to your girlfriend?" she asked, easily matching the smaller girl's gait with her own saunter. "Though I wouldn't be opposed to being addressed in the bedroom…or perhaps Momomi-senpai would be better…" she mused innocently, though her amber eyes flashed with a trace of mischief.

Tamao groaned, causing the older girl to smirk beside her. "Let's just do this as painlessly as possible," she muttered under her breath, just loudly enough so that Momomi could hear, smirking to herself when the honey-blonde seemed to actually pout at her lack of enthusiasm.

"That's not what you'll be saying afterwards," Momomi retorted, her tone involuntarily huffy as her wounded pride shone through. "I make that precious 'Nagisa-chan' of yours look like a bag-lady."

"Ego much?" Tamao replied as they arrived in the lounge area of the Strawberry Dorms. "So what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Momomi chose to ignore her first comment, smirking as she slunk into a large, plush armchair and yanked Tamao by the wrist, causing the younger girl to cry out and fall into her lap just as a certain brunette entered the room.

Leaning against the doorframe, Kaname raised one eyebrow as if to ask, 'Really?' Momomi tilted her head, replying with a would-be innocent smile—would be, that is, if she didn't have a very flushed blunette sprawled across her lap. "Fancy meeting you here, Kana-chan," she began sweetly. "Heading out, I see?"

Kaname paused, narrow eyes taking in the scene before her. "Yeah," she finally stated in a clipped tone, skeptical eyes never leaving the duo. "Fancy that."

Momomi's smile tightened minutely. "You didn't answer my question, Kaname," she said in a somewhat forced tone. "Are you heading out?"

Kaname paused, eyes flickering to stare directly into Momomi's in an unspoken challenge. "Perhaps," she lazily. "If I feel like it." Her gaze shifted to Tamao, then back to the honey-blonde. "You fucking her?"

Tamao blanched, caught off guard by the casual use of the harsh language, but Momomi simply met Kaname's gaze with a plastic smile. "Perhaps," she replied, an almost undetectable trace of venom lacing her tone. "If I _feel _like it."

Kaname finally looked away, throwing her head back and scoffing. "Yeah, okay," she replied sharply, her façade melting away. "Whatever, have fun with Aoi's _pet_." With those words, she stalked out of the room, leaving a smug Momomi and a fuming Tamao behind.

Momomi watched her go with a smirk—it hadn't been a complete victory (such a thing couldn't be expected when one was dealing with a snake), but Tamao was clearly having the desired effect. Speaking of which…the older girl returned her attention to the blunette on her lap, mildly stroking the girl's arm as she shook with what Momomi could only presume was anger over Kaname's last remark.

"Don't let her get to you," she said softly, in a tone that Tamao hadn't heard from her thus far. It was far gentler than her usual snarky drawl, and less fake than her sweet, lilting cooing, and Tamao assumed that this was the Momomi that usually only Kaname got to see. However, seeing as the two had really been each others' only friends, Tamao wasn't sure how big of an event this actually was. "She's trying to get under your skin."

"I know that," Tamao muttered as her rage began to ebb away, leaving her feeling strangely empty. She sighed. "How much longer do we have to do this?"

Smirking, Momomi shifted, prompting Tamao to stand up, allowing her to ease out of the chair. "Not giving up already, Suzumi?" she asked, her voice back to normal. "I really thought you were tougher than that."

Tamao rolled her eyes. "I just don't want to keep this going longer than I have to," she replied. "What if I meet someone who wants to be with me?"

"Too bad for them," Momomi replied without hesitation, smirking as she dodged a halfhearted slap aimed at her arm. "Really, though, it's not like I'm going to tell you not to date anyone—just keep it under wraps. I've dealt with enough public humiliation without being seen as the upperclassman who was cheated on by her kouhai." She spat out the last sentence, not really intending to put as much venom into the words as she had. Glancing over at Tamao, she caught the girl staring at her with a strange expression, one that made her want to scream. Halting in her tracks so abruptly that Tamao ran into her back, she spun around and pressed a finger into the girl's chest. "Don't pity me, Suzumi," she stated lowly.

"It's hard not to pity one of the loneliest people I've ever met," Tamao retorted, and Momomi actually took a step back, not expecting the girl to stand up to her so boldly. Tamao took the opportunity to slip away from the older girl and towards the flight of stairs leading to her room. "Goodnight, Kiyashiki-sama."

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><p>"This does get tedious at times," Chikaru noted mildly to Miyuki's assistant, Hitomi, as the two, along with her other assistant, Mizuho, watched the volley between Shion and Miyuki as if it were a tennis match. The raven-haired president had her chin resting on her intertwined fingers, her eyes landing on her Spican counterpart for just a moment too long. "Particularly so late in the evening."<p>

Hitomi nodded wearily. "At least it looks like they're winding down," she replied, nodding to Miyuki, who appeared to be on the verge of conceding this particular match to the fiery blonde opposite her.

The meeting was called only several minutes later, and, as usual, Miyuki glided out of the room first, followed by Hitomi and Mizuho, leaving Chikaru and Shion alone in the room. Smiling gently at the blonde, Chikaru attempted to brush past her and to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Shion-chan," she said, resting her fingers gently on Shion's arm and pulling away only to be caught by the wrist.

After a moment of silence, Shion shifted uncomfortably, her violet eyes darting nervously around the room. "Look, Minamoto-san…just let me walk you back to your room," she said lowly. "It's dark now, it's not really safe for you to be walking around alone."

Chikaru raised one eyebrow as she flawlessly hid the smile that was threatening to form on her lips. "The last I heard, the campus was secure, _Tomori-san_," she replied coquettishly, turning back to face Shion and tugging at the Spican's bow tie, unnecessarily straightening it.

"Yeah, well, you never know," Shion replied gruffly, running a hand through her blonde hair. Finally, she looked up, meeting Chikaru's amber gaze with her own pleading violet. "Please, just let me do this, Chikaru," she begged, her tone dropping an octave as she crossed the boundary between professional and personal.

Chikaru smiled gently. "Always so chivalrous, Shion-chan," she said softly, brushing her fingers over the Spican's cheek. "If you insist, then."

Shion seemed to let out an inaudible sigh of relief as she reached over and picked up Chikaru's binder for her before walking to the door and holding it open for the Le Rim president. Chikaru smiled gratefully and patted Shion's chest in acknowledgement, causing the blonde to flush bright red. "Chikaru…"

The raven-haired girl merely giggled as they were hit with the brunt of the icy nighttime air. "Spring is nearly here," Chikaru noted after a moment, lacing her fingers through a still-blushing Shion's. "Our last year is looming before us, Shion-chan, but we still have one last summer to be free."

Shion frowned slightly as she allowed herself to be pulled along. "I'll be training to take over the company," she stated. "That's not really what I'd call free."

Chikaru glanced at her, smiling sadly. "No, Shion-chan, but you haven't really allowed yourself to be free since our first year, have you?"

Shion shrugged, unable to meet Chikaru's eyes. "I have to do this, Chikaru," she stated after a moment.

Chikaru hummed in agreement. "Indeed," she said simply. "Well, I, for one, plan on enjoying my last summer. My family plans to travel to the seaside. Imagine it—the sun, the beach…perhaps even a summer romance…" she added, watching Shion out of the corner of her eye, and delighting inwardly when the girl stiffened.

"Summer romance?"

"Why of course, Shion-chan—I think you'll find it's quite the popular cliché in some parts of the world," Chikaru replied brightly.

The Spican just grumbled under her breath.

Chikaru pulled to a stop just outside of the doors of the Strawberry Dorms, causing Shion to halt beside her. After a moment of silence, she tugged at the blonde's wrist, forcing the girl to look at her. "What do you want, Shion-chan?" she asked quietly, cupping the girl's chin in her hands. "If you could have anything at all, what would you ask for?"

Shion stiffened, her violet eyes looking everywhere but at Chikaru. "I don't see what it matters," she stated gruffly.

"It matters, Shion-chan," Chikaru replied, her voice gentle and unrushed. "What do you want the most?"

The Spican inhaled sharply, and then seemed to deflate before Chikaru's eyes. "You know what I want, Chikaru," she said in a defeated tone, her gaze finally meeting Chikaru's. "Don't make me say it out loud. Don't play these games with me."

"This isn't a game, Shion-chan," Chikaru said softly, tucking several stray strands of blonde hair behind the Spican's ear. "What do you want more than anything?"

"You."

It was quiet—barely more than a whisper—and Chikaru wasn't sure she was meant to hear it at all.

But then Shion leaned forward and just _kissed _her, and Chikaru just stopped thinking entirely.

"I don't want you to have some summer romance," Shion murmured, her breath hot against Chikaru's icy skin, arms wrapped possessively around her waist.

"And I…don't want you to pretend this didn't happen…tomorrow," Chikaru replied, kissing up the column of the Spican's neck. Then she pulled away slowly, raising her hands to cup Shion's face, her thumbs massaging the girl's jawbone. "But we can't always get what we want, can we?"

"Chikaru," Shion growled, her hands tightening at the Le Rim's sides. "Don't be like this."

"If you didn't want me to be 'like this', you shouldn't have kissed me, Shion," Chikaru replied, her voice uncharacteristically harsh, but Shion seemed to take it in stride.

"If you didn't want me to kiss you, you shouldn't have _tempted _me, Chikaru," she replied in the same tone, her hands shifting to clutch at the other girl's hips.

There was a moment of defiant silence, and then Chikaru let out a small cry, thrusting her arms around the Spican's neck as if she were clinging for dear life. "I miss you, Shion-chan," she whimpered, her sobs muffled by the fabric of Shion's jacket. "So, so much."

The blonde tensed for only a moment before wrapping her arms tightly around Chikaru's waist, pressing firm kisses to the other girl's hair. "Me too," she finally murmured, falling back against the marble stairwell and resting her chin on top of Chikaru's head.

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><p>Okuwaka Tsubomi watched the scene unfold before her with wide eyes, terrified to move, in case she killed the moment. She'd just stormed out of her dorm room after a heated argument with her new roommate, a certain infuriating brunette, and had been on her way to cool her head with a late night walk when she had frozen at the top of the stairs, transfixed by the sight of the unflappable Chikaru falling to pieces in the arms of Spica's own president.<p>

She stood there, paralyzed, until she was yanked backwards roughly by her collar, stifling a yelp as she fell back into the Dorm, into a pair of strong arms.

As soon as she was sure that the door had closed behind her, she whirled around, knowing exactly who her assailant had been. "What was that for, Yaya-baka?" she snapped, attempting to shove the brunette away from her.

Yaya rolled her eyes. "Nothing, I was just saving you from inevitably getting busted by Shion," she replied.

Tsubomi gasped in a humorously dramatic fashion. "Yaya-_senpai_, show some respect for authority!"

"Whatever," Yaya replied, grabbing Tsubomi's wrist and dragging her back towards their room. "_Tomori-sama _and I have a bit of an agreement." Once they reached the room, she pushed Tsubomi inside and closed the door behind them before turning to face the pinkette with an uncharacteristic scowl. "What were you thinking?"

Tsubomi frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, pouting. "I was thinking I wanted to get away from my baka-hentai of a roommate!"

"You could've done that without running into the forest at night," Yaya replied harshly, and Tsubomi was taken aback.

"What's your problem, Yaya-baka?"

Yaya huffed, folding her arms tightly over her chest as she stalked back towards her bed, leaving a confused Tsubomi behind. "Nothing," the brunette muttered, burying her head underneath the covers. "Go to sleep."

But Tsubomi wouldn't be so easily deterred. "Were you…worried about me?" she asked, brow furrowed.

"Of course I was!" Tsubomi jumped back as her roommate sat up straight in bed, glaring at her—she hadn't expected Yaya to just…come out with it. "I know it's a secure campus, but I mean, really, Tsubomi, it's not like people can't think of ways to get around the system!"

Tsubomi huffed—she had been touched by Yaya's concern at first, especially considering her growing feelings for the brunette, but she didn't appreciate being treated like a child. "I think I would have been in more trouble if Tomori-sama had seen me," she replied petulantly, her nose upturned.

She heard Yaya sigh—heard the brunette's mattress shift just before she felt a pair of warm arms snake around her waist. "Just go to sleep, okay, pinky?" she asked, absentmindedly pressing a lazy kiss to the pinkette's temple, unaware of the profuse blush that appeared on Tsubomi's cheeks and stretched all the way to the tips of her ears.

"Yaya-senpai shouldn't expect me to do everything she says," she finally replied, folding her arms over her chest. Yaya rolled her eyes and returned to her own bed.

"Whatever," she muttered, disappearing once more beneath her covers.

Tsubomi stood there for about another minute, just to make her point, before giving in to her tired body and collapsing on her own bed, pulling the comforter over her still-red face.

She didn't fall asleep for another three hours—just lay there, staring at the wall, reliving the kiss that she could still feel burning into her temple over and over again in her mind.

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><p><strong>Hey, it's the authors note :O <strong>

**Yes, there is now a lounge area :P Also I was too lazy to look up Chikaru's assistants or whether or not those two actually WERE Miyuki's assistants, so please bear with me.**

**So I've decided to respond to reviews after all—I felt like shit not responding to your guys's reviews when you took the time to write them, which I know not a lot of people do. So yeah :3**

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><p><strong>xannaxmurderx: <strong>They will, eventually, I'm just trying to build up a bit of romantic suspense, I suppose :P

**awintersbreeze: **Thanks :)

**TheNomade5: **Yep, I really wanted to experiment with it after I started to that one time, and this seemed like the right opportunity.

**Huggler: **Thanks! :3 I just really wanted to try it out and see if I could make it work :) Momomi's just too pretty to be left all heartbroken and unused, I decided :P Well, the kiss was more or less just Momomi trying to persuade Tamao to do this whole thing with her, or at least that's what I had in mind. I love jealous Shion, she's so cute :3

**ChibiRox: **I will :)

**Mochifreak: **I can totally relate to the whole iPod touch thing—it's the same thing I do at one in the morning when I can't sleep, lol. I have to keep repositioning myself because of the stupid screen :P Thanks! I can't see me not finishing this at this point—it's got too many good things going for it (or so I'd like to believe :P). Thanks for the review, I'm glad you took the time to :3

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><p><strong>Remember to review, por favor! :3<strong>


	5. Where Are You?

**I'm so sorry, guys, I don't know what to say about how long I've taken to upload this other than I've been so worried about being suspended from college, and that I've been sucked into some convoluted romantic web that I'm TRYING to make sense of. Thank you to all of my faithful reviewers, you deserve far more updates than this.**

**Also, the song lyrics are my own this time—I made them up on the spot because I couldn't find a good song to represent this chapter, lol. Sorry :P I actually only wrote the stanza off the top of my head, all I have is the segment, not a full song :P So it's actually a poem…that you sing… :/ **

**Anyway, props to anyone who can find the meaning of the lyrics, or the topic or theme or whatever :P**

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><p><strong>oOOOo<strong>

**Love Me Least**

**Four: Where Are You?**

**oOOOo**

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><p>"<em>Make up your mind—who are you?<em>

_You promised to catch me when I fell—where are you?_

_And you're right here beside me,_

_But I can't find you."_

_-Me :P_

Chikaru felt almost as though she'd been in a sort of bubble since the week before—she registered when people spoke to her, but not really comprehending much more than was needed to form a proper answer, and going through her day in a complete haze.

She had never pretended to understand everything when it came to matters of the heart—sure, she was more perceptive than most, but it wasn't as if there were a map to the heart.

But for the first time, Tomori Shion had her completely and utterly disarmed.

And it wasn't as though the Spican were a particularly mysterious or elusive person—that was part of her charm, Chikaru had always thought. She was just so blunt, so honest, and whatever hurt came from her words was okay, because at least she knew nobody would ever be hurt by the things that Shion _didn't _say.

It was, after all, the things left unsaid that often hurt the most. Chikaru was reminded of this every time she happened to glance Tamao's way while the gaze of the girl in question was focused on a certain naïve, plucky redhead. And then there was Momomi, and the scars that she liked to pretend were only skin-deep, the ones she was trying to heal with revenge and bitterness.

Chikaru sighed as she watched the honey-blonde Spican saunter towards the Miator building. She could only hope that whatever this arrangement with Tamao was would be good for her—the two were as opposite as people really came.

However, Momomi soon disappeared around the corner, and Chikaru was left to her own thoughts and problems once more. She sighed internally, shifting her gaze to the leaves skipping over the concrete at her feet. It was so much easier to concentrate on the problems of others—she'd thrown herself into the practice after Shion had begun to pull away from her back in their first year, and somehow, it had ended up defining her.

_Let's go to Chikaru, she has all the answers._

_ Let's go to Chikaru, she'll know what to do._

But Chikaru didn't know what to do, not even a little bit.

She sat there for she didn't know how long, right up until a throat was cleared pointedly off to her left. She lifted her head slowly, bracing herself for the sight that she knew would greet her. Was it really so pathetic, that she'd memorized every sound, every gesture?

"I haven't seen you in a while, Shion-chan," she mused with a small smile, once she was finally able to bring herself to look into the conflicted violet eyes that were boring into her own. "Although I suppose I needn't have worried—you would never miss a council meeting, would you, kaichou?"

Shion averted her eyes, staring down at the ground. "Chikaru, about last week…"

"How thick do you think my skin is, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked suddenly, her voice cutting through the silent surroundings like a knife, though it was just barely more than a shaky whisper. "How much of this do you think I can take?"

The Spican looked pained for a moment, as if Chikaru had slapped her. She took in a deep breath, steeling herself. "How much of what, Chikaru?"

Chikaru smiled sadly. "I know you're not as clueless as you seem, Shion-chan," she said. "I think you forget how long I've known you."

Shion cleared her throat, glancing around her before she took a seat on the bench, though she remained a safe distance away from Chikaru. "I don't know what to do, Chikaru," she said gruffly, rubbing the back of her neck before tilting her head back and gazing up at the sky. "I don't know what to say to you—you've always been the smartest girl I know. You have to have known what was going to happen."

"Mmm," Chikaru hummed. "I suppose I should have thought ahead, yes." She paused, staring out at the sprawling campus. "But sometimes we act with our hearts before we think with our minds. It's a dangerous thing, but at some point or another, everyone falls victim to their own hearts."

"But not me, right?" Shion asked after a moment.

Chikaru smiled sadly. "No, not you, Shion-chan," she replied. "Never you."

Shion cleared her throat nervously at Chikaru's tone, shifting her gaze to the cement. "You…you made it sound like it was a bad thing."

"Perhaps," Chikaru agreed, "but it's also a human thing. If we think only with our minds, we'll be successful, but for the wrong reasons. If we take the chance to listen to our hearts…we may not end up where we thought we would, but at least we know we'll be happy, wherever we are."

"I won't be happy as anything less than my father expects me to be," Shion replied sharply. "Don't play these games with me, Chikaru. This…what we have…it isn't worth it. Not in the long run."

"What_ is_ worth it, then, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked, turning to face the Spican for the first time, her eyes flashing with a level of emotion that made the blonde's stomach twist and flip in guilt. "When will anything be _worth _it, kaichou? How special does someone have to be to warrant your loyalty?"

"You'll always have my loyalty, Chikaru," Shion replied in a low voice, folding her arms tightly around her midsection, refusing to meet the brunette's eyes. "You know that."

Chikaru's lips twitched into a shadow of an affectionate smile, and before the Spican could dart away, she'd reached across the empty space of the bench and clasped Shion's hand in her own. "You're a better person than this, Shion-chan," she said, her voice slipping into a more emotional, desperate tone, eyes searching the blonde's for any sign of reassurance. "You still have your heart—you still _feel _just as much as you did all those years ago."

"And that's a weakness," Shion muttered, though she didn't shake Chikaru away. "After this year, I'm going to take over my father's company. I'm going to be one of the richest women in Japan, and I'm going to continue the Tomori legacy. That doesn't sound like too horrible of a life."

"It sounds incredibly lonely, though," Chikaru replied softly, daring to shift closer to Shion, pulling her hand out of the blonde's and running her fingers down the Spican's rigid back. "Don't leave Spica like this," she said as her eyes began to fill with tears. "Don't leave _me _like this."

Shion shook her head and stood abruptly. "It's time we head to bed, Minamoto-san," she stated, and Chikaru almost laughed at the Spican's pointless shift into formality. She paused for a moment, and then shrugged out of her jacket, thrusting it to Chikaru without really looking at her. The Le Rim president caught it, pressing it to her chest, more out of instinct than anything else. "You need to get to bed, but knowing you, you won't listen to me, so…at least wear that, so you don't get…sick, or whatever," the Spican grumbled, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Chikaru smiled sadly and stood, wrapping her arms around the Shion's shoulders, pulling the blonde so close that their lips were only a hair's breath away. She hesitated there, eyes never leaving the confused violet gaze that was directed at her. Just as the Spican began to lean in, Chikaru shifted and pressed a lingering kiss to Shion's cheek before pulling out of her arms and patting her chest. "Goodnight, Shion-chan."

She turned and began to walk away, smiling despite herself as she heard Shion stutter out a reply just before she was out of earshot.

Some things, at least, would never change.

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><p>Sidling into the literature club, Momomi chose a chair right in front of a certain bluenette, instantly straddling it as she turned to face the girl behind her, taking a small, delicate hand in her own. Her lip twitched just slightly—the only sign that she took any sort of sadistic pleasure from watching Tamao squirm as she made a show of pressing her pearly lips to the poet's knuckles.<p>

"Stop it," Tamao muttered under her breath, yanking her hand away far too quickly for subtlety, her face redder than Nagisa's hair. "Do you _have _to make such a show of this? It's only to get back at Kenjou-san, and this is the last place you'd find her."

Momomi smiled coquettishly, pulling away from Tamao and prodding the tip of the girl's nose with her pointer finger. "Silly little girl," she cooed. "Kana-chan is smarter than that. She's bound to ask around, so we need to make this as believable as possible."

Tamao rolled her eyes, and Momomi huffed.

"Aren't you supposed to be sweet or something," she asked, folding her arms over her chest. "You're always like a submissive little puppy around Aoi, but whenever I try to talk to you, you turn into this defiant little thorn in my side."

Tamao's eyes widened. She hadn't noticed her change in personality—to be honest, ever since she gave Nagisa to Shizuma, she simply seemed to lack the energy that it took to be her natural, kind-hearted self. She'd always been a firm believer in the idea that it took more muscles to frown than to smile, so how was it that these days, even the smallest smile seemed to sap the energy right out of her.

Momomi's eyes softened involuntarily as the emotions raced across the bluenette's face, the most prominent being hurt and confusion. Tamao didn't know how to steel herself against the pain, how to act like she was invincible when she was falling to pieces inside. "Come on, don't be so down about it," she added, ducking into the bluenette's line of vision, capturing Tamao's attention before she straightened, tossing her light hair carelessly over one shoulder. "You were always a total pushover before," she added, wearing something resembling a pout. "You were never even any fun to mess with. Not even Kana-chan could enjoy making you squirm. You just made it too easy."

Tamao blushed to the tips of her ears, her eyes darting to the side, and Momomi broke into a grin befitting of the Cheshire cat. Or Yaya. "I'm still the same person, you know," the bluenette mumbled, ironically feeling more like herself in this moment than she had since that fateful election. "That's more than a little bit insulting."

Momomi scoffed, leaning back carelessly against the best. "Grow a backbone, Suzumi," she replied. "You need to learn to stand up for yourself, or people are just going to start walking all over you again."

Tamao frowned. "What do you care?" she asked.

The Spican hesitated for a moment, caught off-guard. "Well," she began, thinking for a moment. "If you're going to be my girlfriend, real or otherwise, I won't have you skipping around the school like a walking doormat. It would be a blow to _my _reputation, and Kana-chan would never let me hear the end of it." She punctuated the statement with a huff.

Tamao rolled her eyes. "Fine, Momomi-_sama_," she replied, her walls rebuilding themselves just as quickly as they had fallen. "Could you leave now? Unless, of course, you want to hear about Honda-san's most recent heartbreak…" Her gaze flitted to the front of the room, where a petite girl with flamboyantly curly hair and puffy eyes was holding what looked like three sheets of paper. Momomi made a face, and Tamao couldn't hold back a giggle. The Spican glanced back at the younger girl and smirked, taking an unusual amount of pride in making the girl who was quickly becoming known simply as 'that sad poet girl' laugh.

"Alright, I'll leave for now," she replied, stretching luxuriously in her seat, reminiscent of a panther, her ample chest straining against her tight Spica jacket. Blushing, Tamao averted her eyes, thanking Maria that the cat-like girl hadn't caught her staring.

Momomi slid out of the seat and patted the bluenette's head in a thoroughly patronizing manner. "But don't think you've escaped me, ma cherie," she added in a flawless French accent. "I'll be looking for you tomorrow night—there's a mandatory council meeting, and Kana-chan won't have any distractions."

"You're still assuming this is going to work…"

"I know my…I mean, I know Kana-chan," Momomi said, tripping over her words and cursing herself for it. Was she really becoming so sloppy? Soon enough she was going to be no better than these stuttering little schoolgirls drooling after their 'one true love'. Disgusting. "She won't be able to bear seeing me with anyone else, even if only for the sake of her pride."

Tamao frowned slightly. "Is that really a good enough reason for you to take her back?" she asked, more to herself than anything, but Momomi overheard, and instantly adopted a defensive tone.

"What was that, Suzumi?"

Tamao sighed, wishing she hadn't spoken at all. "I mean, would you really want to be with her, knowing that she only wanted you so that she could claim you?" she explained.

"If you could have Aoi somehow, wouldn't you want her, no matter what it took?" Momomi snapped. "No matter how you had her?"

A beat passed.

"No," Tamao whispered. "No, I think I proved that when I gave her up to Shizuma, not only losing my first love, but also any chance of winning the Etoile election." She hesitated. "Rokujou-sama told me that Nagisa-chan and I would have won, if it weren't for Shizuma's poor timing."

Momomi stared down at the girl, seeing her for what she was—a shell, a shadow of the sweet, optimistic girl she used to be. Maybe Momomi was trying to piece her heart back together the wrong way, but at least she _was _trying. She refused to feel sorry for this sad, hollow girl, even though something in her chest was aching for her. "Well," she began, shouldering her small bookbag, "I guess you're not as smart as everyone thinks you are."

She turned on her heel and walked out the door, pretending she hadn't heard Tamao's muttered reply, which sounded suspiciously like, "Or maybe I'm just not as bitter as everyone knows you are."

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><p><strong>So hey, quick question—would you guys prefer in KanaMomo got back together? I personally was planning to have the MomomiTamao thing evolve into real feelings, cuz that's kinda my favorite part of these arranged relationships :3 But I want to make sure people will still read!**

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><p><strong>xannaxmurderx: <strong>I'm glad you're liking it :3 Sorry it took so long to update, but I do plan to continue this story!

**ChibiRox: **Sorry it took so long, but I don't plan on abandoning this story :3 It's got too much potential, the way I see it.

**Regretx993: **Thanks! Yep, I like my stories with some good old gaynst :P I can't wait for Shion to stop being so stubborn, but I gotsta keep it in character :P

**xMaskedDestroyerx: **Well, Shion's still got a bit more hardheadedness in her, but she's getting there :3 Yaya and Tsubomi, I can't write a Stopani story without them :3 They're more of a side couple at this point, but I may expand on their story. Yeah, I kind of have a secret love for Momomi :3 She's hard to write (for me) though, so I hope I'm keeping her in character. Tamao's also hard for me to write, because she's like me, only more optimistic, only I don't think she retains a ton of that after the elections…I'm really trying not to make her so blah D:

**awintersbreeze: **Thanks :)

**Remember to review, por favor! :3 I know I've been gone for a while, but I still like to know if everyone will continue to read!**


	6. Follow Me Down

**So I just calculated my possible GPA turnout with my current estimated grades (I can't be very far off with what I know at this point), since I'm on academic probation, and need to get a 2.25 GPA to keep from being suspended. And I was like 'no problem' because I've always passed school. Only I'm bad at college, and although I THOUGHT I could stay in college easily with certain grades that I raised, I just calculated my GPA with this iPod app. And the BEST I can hope for is a 1.7 GPA. So yeah. Can't find a job, and am now going to be kicked out of school RIGHT after being encouraged to change my major to psychology, which I love, by my amazingly supportive mom. So yeah, I'm completely and utterly absolutely useless. The only thing keeping me from going into depression was the idea I had that I was going to be able to stay in school.**

**At this point, it's not even borrowing trouble, and that's the scariest part. I've never felt so utterly miserable and hopeless in my life…**

**OH WELL.**

**On to the story. I added some Tsubomi/Yaya, for those who were disappointed last chapter!**

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><p><strong>oOOOo<strong>

**Love Me Least**

**Five: Follow Me Down**

**oOOOo**

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><p>"<em>So follow me down (where to?)<em>

_Out of this town (with you.)_

_Girl you're moving way too slow._

_So follow me down (which way?)_

_I'll show you around (okay.)_

_There's some place we gotta go…"_

_-3OH!3 feat. Neon Hitch_

"Either quit sulking around or tell me what your stupid problem is, Yaya-baka!"

The ebony-haired girl huffed, and the petite pinkette beside her nearly growled in annoyance. From beside Yaya, Hikari bit her lip, watching the exchange with a fair amount of nervousness.

"Tsubomi-chan, maybe it's best to just leave it…," Hikari said softly, eyes flickering between the two girls. She, of course, was well aware of what Yaya's 'problem' was—one of the younger girls in the choir had developed a crush on Tsubomi, and naturally, Yaya's first instinct was to torture the poor girl by attaching herself to the pinkette throughout choir practice. Tsubomi, however, had sympathized with the girl and shoved Yaya away, scolding her, and spent the rest of the lesson beside the blushing newbie. The brunette hadn't taken kindly to the brush off, though, something that Tsubomi was having trouble comprehending. Yaya always teased her, and she always pushed her away—what made this time so different?

"Gomenasai, Hikari-senpai, but I can't just leave it when Yaya-senpai is acting like a complete _baka _for no reason!" Tsubomi replied, her tone growing steadily more annoyed as she shifted her focus from the blonde to the brunette. Yaya pouted.

Hikari sighed, shrinking down in her seat and prodding at her dinner with a fork—she was used to eating through pointless arguments, but those were always in jest, at least on Yaya's part. This was more serious, as Yaya had taken true offense to Tsubomi's rejection. "Tsubomi-chan, may I talk to you for a moment?" the blonde asked, already reaching across the table to grab the pinkette's hand.

Tsubomi's face flushed more out of instinct than anything else—her crush on Hikari had always been nothing more than a ruse, but skin-to-skin contact with any senpai was enough to set her off like a fire engine. Yaya huffed loudly, and Hikari had to fight back a giggle—it had to be a good sign, if Yaya was annoyed that she was touching Tsubomi, and not the other way around. Tsubomi shot a glare at the brunette. "Of course, Hikari-senpai!" she agreed, loudly, as if only to further spite the brunette, and Hikari bit her lip as the pinkette tugged her off to the side.

"Tsubomi-chan, do you really have to be so hard on Yaya-chan?" Hikari asked once they were out of earshot. "I think it's fairly obvious why she's so upset."

Tsubomi frowned in confusion. "What?" she asked, tilting her head. "It's obvious? What is it, then?"

Hikari let out an inaudible sigh. "Yaya-chan expresses her emotions through her actions more than anything, Tsubomi-chan," she said. "Your rejection probably hurt her more than she's willing to let on."

Tsubomi rolled her eyes and scoffed. "My 'rejection' never hurt her before," she mumbled, folding her arms tightly around her midriff. Then she straightened, turning her head to the right, tilting her chin up defiantly. "I think Yaya-senpai just finds it fun to play with my emotions."

"If she wanted to play with your emotions, I don't think she'd be doing it like this, Tsubomi-chan," Hikari corrected gently. "I think she's really upset."

"Why?" Tsubomi asked, amber eyes flashing in confusion. "I always shove her away, and she always just bounces back like one of those stupid carnival clowns. It's kind of annoying, actually," she added in a petulant undertone.

Hikari smiled gently. "I think it's more the context than the action," she replied. "Usually you shove her away because she's teasing you."

Tsubomi nodded. "And this time, I shoved her away because she was being cruel," she replied definitively. "If anything, she should be more understanding than usual!"

Hikari bit back a groan—she was really going to have to spell it out for the pinkette. Usually Tsubomi was a good bit more perceptive than her best friend. "I don't think Yaya-chan appreciated you spending the entire lesson with Arika-san," she said. "She wasn't trying to be malicious—you know that, Tsubomi-chan." Tsubomi pouted, and Hikari continued, "Think about it like this—when has Yaya ever had to share you with anyone?"

The pinkette bristled, and Hikari chided herself for her word choice. "I don't _belong _to anyone, _especially _that baka hentai!" she snapped, blushing to the tips of her ears. "What is she, a Neanderthal?"

Hikari sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. "Tsubomi-chan…" she began hesitantly, knowing what she was about to do was a risky move, "How do you think Yaya-chan felt when she kissed me and I pushed her away for Amane-senpai? How do you think she felt when she fell for me, only to realize that she couldn't have me at all, not even a little bit."

Tsubomi's jaw worked, and Hikari braced herself. "If this is the way you talk to _her_, I'd say she felt pretty crappy," the pinkette replied sharply, and Hikari was taken aback by her uncharacteristically harsh language. "You _abandoned _her, Hikari-senpai—even _Nagisa-senpai _came back to make sure Tamao-senpai was alright, but you _abandoned _Yaya-senpai. You forgave her, and then stopped spending time with her at all, leaving _me _to heal her when her heart broke because her best friend who _should _have been there was too busy winning the Etoile election with her schoolgirl crush!"

Hikari flinched—the words felt like a hammer repeatedly smashing against her ribcage, trying to her heart. She knew what she'd done, and she wasn't proud of it—she hadn't done the right thing, she'd done the easy thing, and she knew she'd have to face it sometime or another. "Exactly, Tsubomi-chan," she finally said quietly as she watched the small girl's chest heave up and down. "You saved Yaya-chan. So how do you expect her to react when you punish her by ignoring her to spend time with a girl who has feelings for you?"

Tsubomi stood there, glaring for a moment, before her shoulders sagged and she turned back to the table without another word to the bl0nde. Hikari felt as though she was going to cry, but swallowed back the tears as she slid into her seat opposite Yaya, leaning into Amane's side—her prince had materialized at some point during her and Tsubomi's conversation. Her heart was aching, but as she looked up and watched the pinkette slide into the seat beside Yaya and, with a furiously red face, lean against the brunette's shoulder, she knew the pain had been worth _something_.

Yaya seemed confused, but shifted just enough so that Tsubomi could comfortably fit into her side, and, after a moment, wrapped an arm around the pinkette's waist in a slightly possessive manner.

* * *

><p>Chikaru was hardly paying any mind to the bickering presidents in the room with her, instead focusing on a design of a dress she'd created. But something Miyuki said caught her ear towards the end of the meeting.<p>

"Shizuma wants me to invite the two of you to her family's cabin up in the mountains," the Miator president said as she began gathering her things. "She and Nagisa-san are inviting select friends for a winter retreat during the break. Tomori-san, if you could extend the invitation to Kiyashiki-san and Kenjou-san—I would just as soon have as little as possible to do with them."

Shion grumbled some sort of affirmative response, her violet gaze focused on the Le Rim president sitting off to her right. Chikaru met her gaze with an inquisitive look, and the Spican blushed lightly, shifting her eyes back to Miyuki.

"When will we need to be ready to leave, Miyuki-chan?" Chikaru asked, leaning forward and resting her chin on her intertwined fingers, her head tilted innocently. "Winter break begins next week, yes?"

Miyuki sighed at Chikaru's informality, but nodded. "Yes, Minamoto-san, Shizuma intends to leave this next Friday." She paused while gathering her things. "Shizuma's cabin is rather large, but it will be necessary for there to be two girls to a room, so make sure you are prepared for that."

"Mmm," Chikaru hummed, while Shion watched her with a curious expression. "I suppose Shizuma-san will be sharing a room with Nagisa-chan?"

Raising her slender fingers to massage her temples, Miyuki nodded laboriously. "Is there some point in particular you're getting at, Minamoto-san?" she asked. She couldn't seem to get away from Shizuma, even when the silver-haired goddess was nowhere in sight. Which she was more often than not, nowadays.

Chikaru smiled sympathetically. "Gomenasai, Miyuki-chan," she said, bowing slightly. "I was merely wondering if you would agree to share a room with me," she said, to the shock of both Miyuki and Shion, who was watching Chikaru with wide violet eyes, mouth gaping open, leaving her reminiscent of a fish. The Le Rim president tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "I simply assumed that since the members of the council know each other better than we know the others, it would make the most sense. Unless, of course, you would prefer to share a room with Kenjou-san? I'm fairly sure Kiyashiki-san will be sharing a room with Tamao-chan, and I'm not entirely sure you and Shion-chan can share a room for an extended period of time without injuring each other severely."

Shion, who'd finally seemed to decide on one emotion, (which was looking rather like indignation) opened her mouth to object, but was cut off by a rather stilted reply from Miyuki. "W-well, that seems to be in order," the Miator president said, flushing in embarrassment. She was completely unused to more informal situations with members of the council—besides Shizuma, that was, and they hardly spoke anymore.

Chikaru flashed a flustered Miyuki a bright smile, while Shion fumed in silence.

Miyuki called the meeting to a close only several minutes later, and left the room almost immediately after that, leaving Chikaru alone with the seething blonde. The brunette took her time gathering her things, and Shion was on her not a second after the door closed behind Miyuki.

"What was _that_?" the Spican spat, her voice just barely a growl. She was pressed up against Chikaru, her knuckles white around the table, but the Le Rim president simply exhaled and turned to face her with a smile.

"I was merely being proactive, Shion-chan," she replied, her left hand creeping down to the table to massage Shion's right—it was still clasped around the table in a death grip. "Surely you appreciate it?"

The Spican scoffed. "Since when are you on such friendly terms with Miyuki?" she asked, or growled, rather, but it came out more petulantly than she'd meant it to.

"I try to be on friendly terms with most people, Shion-chan," Chikaru replied with a serene smile, and even Shion, who'd known her for the better part of her life, couldn't tell whether she was serious or simply playing one of her games. And then small, pearly lips twitched into the shadow of a smile, and Shion sighed internally, chastising herself to constantly falling into these carefully placed traps. "Don't tell me you're threatened by Miyuki-chan," Chikaru mused, turning back to her book bag and placing her folders neatly inside before slinging it over her shoulder. "You'd do well to keep her from catching on, ne?"

The brunette turned to leave the room, but was pulled to a sudden, forceful halt by the tight grip Shion had on her wrist. "I'm not _threatened_, Chikaru," she muttered, so lowly that it was almost a growl. "But I'm tired of your stupid little games-"

In that instant, Chikaru whirled on the Spican, causing Shion to let go of her arm out of shock. "And I'm tired of _yours_, Shi-chan!" she cried, tears threatening to spill from wide brown eyes, her fists balled helplessly at her sides, nails digging into her palms in desperation. "Choose me or don't, kaichou, but don't leave me hanging by a thread!"

Shion stumbled backward, completely jaded by this new, exposed side of Chikaru, the one she'd only seen glimpses of up until now. Hints, flickers. "Ch-Chikaru, I'm not trying to hurt you-"

"But you _are, _Shion-chan." She was calmer now, collecting herself by the second. "You always are."

Shion was silent for a moment, staring down at the floor. "So…does that mean you have to share a room with Miyuki?" she finally asked. "Because she's got to be a horrible roommate, always nagging about everything-"

"Shion."

The blonde stopped mid-rant, raising hesitant eyes to meet Chikaru's.

The brunette smiled sadly, touching Shion's cheek. "You didn't make your choice, Shion-chan, so now, I'm making it for you," she said, eyes still red and watery, but her face set, her eyes flashing with determination through her kind smile. "We both knew it was never going to be me, anyway." She slipped from the room before a shell-shocked (and still somewhat jealous) Shion could grab her again.

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><p>"Have you heard about the trip to Hanazono and Aoi's love nest?" Momomi asked, tilting her head back so that Tamao's flushed face was fully in view.<p>

The poet stuttered for a moment, her blush deepening even further than it had when the Spican had joined her in the lounge and flopped down right across her lap, honey-blonde hair splayed across the black and green of her Miator uniform. "D-do you _have _to call it that?" she finally spluttered.

Momomi replied with a catlike grin—she'd never admit it, but she'd come to miss the sweet, blushing poet she'd gotten used to for the past four years, before that damn redheaded bimbo had showed up and just fucked everything right up the ass. Kaname's words, of course. Besides, whether she was too easy of a target or not, it was always entertaining to watch the girl squirm. It made Momomi feel powerful, as if she didn't need Kaname.

She frowned slightly, shaking the thought from her head. Of course she needed Kaname—that's what this whole charade was for, after all, and who was Suzumi Tamao to replace one the greatest criminal mind of Spica?

No, it was just the power going to her head, was all.

Easy there, Honeybee, lest you pollinate the wrong flower.

Although, now that she thought about it, Kaname was much more like a weed than anything else. Or maybe a thistle. Or one of those poisonous plants that you eat because it looks like something else, maybe. Yes, that was it.

But Tamao was a flower. Not a rose. A pansy, maybe. Or perhaps…

Momomi glanced up at the girl who was now completely lost in whatever miserably dull book she'd acquired. She stared at her, watched her with scrutinizing eyes until the bluenette twitched, clearly having noticed Momomi's gaze. The Spican looked back down, facing the door opposite her.

A moon flower, perhaps. Functioning under something of a façade until the proper moment comes along. And then…

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Momomi shook her head violently, startling the poet whose lap she was occupying. She sat up quite suddenly. "Anyway," she said matter-of-factly, glad that she didn't blush easily, "I don't intend to share a room with Kana-chan—god knows what we'd get up to."

Tamao raised one eyebrow, but shrugged. "So don't," she said.

"You know, your stick-up-the-ass president is sharing with Chikaru," Momomi added. This seemed to shake Tamao slightly—the bluenette had been counting on her president (and in some ways, her companion) to share a room with her. On cue, Momomi flipped her hair back over her shoulder and leaned into Tamao's personal space with a feral smirk. "Looks like you're stuck with me, deary," she cooed.

Tamao huffed and jerked her head away, if only to hide her blossoming blush. She hadn't even noticed when Momomi had thrown herself across her lap—well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. She'd noticed, but she hadn't felt the need to take any action. Was she really becoming so accustomed to one half of Astraea Hill's most cunning duo?

No—that was dangerous.

This was an arrangement of convenience, nothing more.

Never mind that Tamao hadn't even seen Nagisa in a week.

"Don't do anything weird," Tamao finally said, though her voice came out weaker than she'd intended.

"Hmmm," Momomi mused. "I'm not entirely sure I can guarantee that. You are my _girlfriend_, after all." The word 'girlfriend' rolled off the Spican's tongue like velvet, as intended, and Tamao flushed even further, snapping her book shut.

"I-" The bluenette's mouth opened and closed several times before snapping shut as she stood from the couch. Momomi gazed lazily up at her. "I'm leaving."

"Au reviore, ma petite!"

Tamao rolled her eyes and left the room, treading more heavily than was maybe necessary until she reached the hallway.

She wasn't sure she'd survive the trip, and even if she did, she was positive things were going to change. She just wasn't sure how.

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><p><strong>I'm pretty sure I spelled 'reviore' wrong, sorry :P But you all know what I mean, yes?<strong>

**I just want to thank all of my reviewers for the fantastic turnout in reviews with this chapter, they really are motivational, as one of the reasons I post on here is for your guys's enjoyment! So thank you all for the motivation!**

**Also, I don't know whether Etoile Elections took place before or after Christmas break, but I'm having them take place before, because it's convenient for me :P**

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><p><strong>Regretx993: <strong>Awesome :D She will eventually, once she comes to her senses :) Don't worry, I'm not going to pair Chikaru up with anyone else. What does NTR mean, though? I'm kind of clueless -.- It's actually kind of like Found and Lost, so you were close :3 Like, you fall for someone, and then they change into someone you hardly know :/

**mttmercado: ** Thanks for the support :) I do need to do something with KanaMomo eventually, though, I just have to think of a way to do it, and whether Tamao or Momomi should realize their feelings first :/ It seems like everyone wants a bit of that :3 Well, I put some in here, so hopefully you liked it :3

**xMaskedDestroyerx: **At this point, I'm planning on making Tamao/Momomi into a pairing, but I think I understand what you mean—like, something has to happen for them to realize their feelings, right? Well, it IS Shion. I know girls like her, they just don't give in, no matter how good the argument is. It's just how they are :P But Shion won't be thick forever :P

**xannaxmurderx: **Thanks :) She does, doesn't she? :3

**Huggler: **Thank you! I do appreciate the long review, they're my favorite :3 Don't worry, I won't get KanaMomo back together, enough people seem to like the Tamao/Momomi pairing, and I didn't particularly want them back together in the first place. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't think of a storyline for them, but they're first in this chapter! :3 Well, thankfully, Shion doesn't really mean to hurt Chikaru—she's just a bit thick like that. I didn't mean for Shion's loyalty bit to come off like that D: It was more of a 'You're the only one' kind of thing, because really, Chikaru is the only one who has even that much of Shion, the only one who can shake her :P

**Obsidian And Cobalt: **That's what I'm thinking :3 I'm going to have them start to build a real relationship pretty soon now :3 I'm glad you're liking it! I'll update as frequently as I can :3

**DrYuriMom: **Wow, thanks! :3 I'm glad you enjoy those elements in my stories; I do try to spend a good amount of focus on characterization, and everything just feels off if I don't get it just right :P I suppose it's the perfectionist part of me—it does make it hard to write at times, though :/ That's interesting, because plot is definitely my weak point, as I'm sure many of my readers have noticed. It's why I can never stick with an original story :/ It's a shame, too, to get 50,000 words into a story and then have no ideas left :/ Well, since summer's coming, I'll be updating a lot more often :3 That is if my mom pressuring me to get a job doesn't kill me…I'm TRYING, I tell you D: Just nobody wants me T_T

**Tuume: **Thanks :3 I agree, although I wish I could take that advice, lol. I like them as a couple, too :3

**Remember to review, por favor! :3 **


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